Stars in the Wine
by Boysn
Summary: A small conversation Trip & Virus have over wine. Takes place before the events of dmmd. A/N: This is really more of a character building exercise. I didn't mean to write this as I have plenty to edit, but it just struck me and had to get out.


Trip popped the plastic top off his small cake. Today he was in the mood for German chocolate because it was 611 yen and the irony couldn't be passed up. Plus, he was in the mood for contradictions and German chocolate was certainly not German.

"Mmm." He heard Virus moan. Trip looked up to see partner sipping on a champagne colored wine. It was unusual to see Virus with anything but an expensive tawny port. Trip thought to question it but turned back to his cake and picked up his fork instead.

"Wait, Trip, you should try this first." Virus said holding out the oddly shaped glass. "It'll taste too sharp and acidic if you have the cake before the wine." Virus added.

Trip had never enjoyed any of Virus' wines. Though they were sweet they left a nutty after taste in his mouth that he wasn't fond of.

"Come on." Virus urged lightly swirling the liquid around the glass. "I promise you'll like this one."

Virus must've been tipsy as he usually gave up if Trip didn't respond within a few seconds.

"Please."

Trip's eyes widened. No, Virus had to be drunk, not tipsy. Trip licked his lips and looked at the glass just centimeters from his face. It was at a 47 degree angle and if it was tipped to 30 degrees then the wine would slip out. He pressed his lips to the glass rim.

"Pfft! Haha!" Virus laughed, "Take it, stupid!" He said pushing the glass forward, causing it to hit Trip's teeth with a clink.

The younger man felt a heat light up his cheeks as he grabbed the stem. Virus was good at socializing while he, Trip, was evidently a social retard. Words and impeccable mannerisms flowed from Virus the way numbers cascaded through Trip's mind. He was jealous of his bespectacled partner but was unsure of what to do about it, so he merely tipped the glass to the correct angle and drank the wine. To his surprise it was sweet with a glorious aftertaste.

"It's…very good." Trip said offering the glass back to Virus.

"No, no. Finish it. I'll pour another glass." Virus said in amusement, "I told you that you'd like it."

Trip wasn't sure how to respond so he took another sip hoping that was enough to convey his thoughts. After a moment of watching Virus pour his own glass Trip decided to try conversing. He may be made fun of, but even ridicule was better than absolute silence.

"W-what type of wine is this?" He asked slowly turning the glass to the side Virus was drinking from before. His next sip carried an indirect kiss.

"Botrytis. Or better yet, Noble Rot." Virus answered over the rim of his glass. "It's from Australia."

Trip nodded but once again found himself unable to respond. Melbourne, Australia was 8190.86894 kilometers away from their current location. Melbourne's latitude and longitude was 37° 49' 0" S / 144° 58' 0" E. Elevation 31 meters. Numbers continued to invade Trip's mind but he was certain Virus wouldn't be interested in any of them. How could he keep the conversation from dying? He quickly scanned the room and his eyes landed on a book next to the bottle of wine. It was Virus' current read.

"What book is that?" Trip asked raising the glass for another indirect kiss.

Virus looked down at the hardback, "Oh, Escape from Camp 14. It's about a North Korean who manages to escape his oppressors, but not before he gets his family killed. He claims that he wasn't entirely human till he got out. That he didn't really feel or know what real emotions were till his escape. It's very interesting." Virus explained.

Trip nodded. He knew of the camp and that it was approximately 155 square kilometers. "It sounds like you. Uh, the part about the not feeling real emotions." He replied keeping the math out of it.

Virus smiled, "I suppose that's why I like it so much…More wine?" He asked holding up his nearly full glass.

Trip lifted his own glass and noticed that he had finished the whole thing, to his surprise.

"Yes." He answered holding out his glass for a refill. Instead of the refill he was expecting Virus swapped out the empty glass for the filled one he had been drinking on. Trip held his breath as his drunken partner filled the empty glass and brought it to his mouth. Virus' lips touched the rim right where Trip's had. Heat plumed up the younger man's chest.

They were kissing.

"So," Virus started, "What's out there?" He asked gesturing to the window. The night sky twinkled with stars. Trip knew which ones they were but he knew if he didn't keep it entertaining that Virus would lose interest.

"Well, uh, close to the horizon you can see Canopus, the second brightest star in the sky, but that's not what's interesting…" Trip trailed off hoping Virus would appeal to the topic. For once they were talking about something he was knowledgable in.

Virus tilted more wine into his mouth, his tongue lightly licking the rim. So they were french kissing now.

"Oh, what is interesting?" Virus asked with an ever so slight lisp.

Trip mimicked Virus by taking a sip and licking the edge of his glass too. The act sent a shiver down Trip's spine, causing him to sit up straight.

"Well, we can't see the whole Carina constellation from here. Canopus is only one star. Further south is the star system you want to see, Eta Carinae." Trip said leaning forward as his excitement built. He hoped Virus would absorb the atmosphere.

"Oh? And what is so special about Eta…Eta Carin?" Virus asked mispronouncing the name, but Trip didn't bother to correct him.

"It's at least a binary star system and when it goes nova it will light up the night sky as if it were day. It's only about 8,000 light years from Earth." Trip explained feeling a smile stretch across his face. It was rare that he was engaged in conversation he could participate in.

Virus let out a small laugh, "You got all that just from looking out the window?" He asked pouring the last bit of wine for himself.

Trip enthusiastically nodded.

"How can you do that?" Virus asked.

Trip looked confused. "Do what?"

"Be so smart and so stupid at the same time."

Trip wasn't sure how to feel about the remark. It was a compliment and insult rolled into one sentence.

Virus tossed back the rest of the wine before slurring, "Have I ever told you that I'm a little jealous of you?"

It took Trip a moment to process the words. He, Trip, had always been jealous of Virus. The vice versa had never occurred to him. He shook his head in response.

"Well…even though I'm good at calculus I could never grasp physics and anything beyond. With the right tools and enough money you could engineer your way to the moon if you wanted." Virus said carefully sitting his glass down, being mindful of his drunken hand.

Trip felt another blush and quickly downed the rest of his wine. If Virus brought up his red hue he could blame it on the alcohol.

"Virus, I've always been jealous of you. You can talk with people and words sound so good coming from you. You're natural. I sound… uh, so out of place with words. I'm out of place with people." Trip said letting his facade down and speaking what he truly felt.

Virus leaned forward, their noses centimeters apart. "Well then, I guess we're just gonna have to be jealous of each other, aren't we." He whispered.

Trip held his breath in anticipation. It took a few seconds before he realized he should answer. He quickly nodded his head but soon regretted it as Virus leaned back, out of range. Releasing his breath he slouched back down and looked at his uneaten cake. It was a circle. Pi was 3.141592653589…

A/N: 611 yen cost of the german chocolate cake. June 11th german chocolate cake day in america.


End file.
